Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu

Mahabalipuram is not far from Chennai, around 60km. In fact it is an easy day ride from Chennai along the coast. I was in town before the Tsunami of 2004. It was an amazing little town, and yes, it was touristy, but it was not overrun by tourism.

Locals go for a swim

During the weekend it saw quite some day trippers from Chennai who would come for a swim and try to get some cheap fish at the local market. It's an old town, there's proof it was already active as a port in the 7th century. And today it has still an active fishing fleet.

The much worn out but beautiful Pancha Rathas temples at the beach

There's not a lot to do in town itself. But there's the beach, several temples including the Shore Temple and the Pancha Rathas temples. The temples are also dating back to the 7th century and despite the erosion due to the sea and weather conditions surprisingly well preserved. The are now part of UNESCO's World Heritage.

 
The Shore Temple in Mahabalipuram

Each temple is a monolith, carved whole from a rock outcropping of pink granite. The five monolithic pyramidal structured shrines are named after the Pandavas (Arjuna, Bhima, Yudhishtra, Nakula and Sahadeva) and Draupadi.

The Shore Temple

The fishing industry is very lively. In the early morning the men go out for their daily catch come back anything they can get, see below. After they are back, it's time to sell the fresh fish at the market, usually by the women, while the men either sleep or being lazy. Some women repair the nets for the next day.

 
Catch of the day ...

The beach is always busy. It's a meeting place for people, playground for kids, a place to sell directly the fresh fish or just a place to sleep the heat of the day away.

It's easy to spend a few days on the beach without even go a for swim. Besides, the current is quite heavy at times, so you have to be careful.

And yes, the town is nothing much, but it's a great place to hang out for a couple of days. I didn't travel further south. Instead I went to Bangalore, Mysore and Ooty before going back north to Hampi, Aurangabad with Ajanta Caves and Ellora Caves in the vicinity.

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